“Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman died believing he had been robbed blind of childhood earnings, and bitterly told pals to keep money-grubbing sponges out of his memorial, according to the actor’s will filed yesterday.
The extraordinary documents filed in Provo, Utah, called for Coleman’s remains to be cremated, and for his executor to keep a short list of loved ones allowed to attend the child star’s funeral.
“I direct my personal representative . . . to plan a wake for me conducted by those who have had no financial ties to me and can look each other in the eyes and say they really cared personally for Gary Coleman,” according to the two-page will.
Coleman’s cynical language didn’t surprise his divorce lawyer Randy Kester.
“He developed this incredible distrust of people … and it was sad,” Kester told The Post. “That’s why he so frequently avoided the press. He just wanted to play with his trains and do his job.”
But Kester added: “He was a coconut: Hard and abrasive on the outside but once you got to know him and he allowed himself to get to know you, he was a really sweet guy.”